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Otago Daily Times, Issue 583, 30 October 1863, Page 4

We have been favored with a copy of the following highly interesting report from the West, Taieri diggings, by Mr Warden Williamson :— .." West Taieri Gold Fields, 28th Oct.—l have the honor to report that a man named Loudoii applied last evening for a prospecting, claim, in a •gully situate about two miles from this place, in a north-east direction. The prospect obtained was £dwt to tin dish, stripping from one to three feet. I have further the honor to report that this morning I granted the applicant a prospecting claim for four men. I have been since informed that other parties have obtained as much as 9dwts to the tin dish of dirt, and that the gold is being traced into the hills, where the stripping becomes deeper. There is considerable excitement amongst the mining population ; but from what I can learn, the gold is not generally dis--tributed in.this gully ; however, as yet it has not had a fair trial. The escort leaves to-day, taking to town over 900 oz, which has been deposited in large parcels. There is a considerable amount of gold being offered for sale in small quantities ; but from the absence of cash, the storekeepers are unable to purchase. It is known that there are large quantities in the possession of some oi the miners who have not yet lodged their gold for transmission. The gold now forwarded by escort has been all obtained in NichoFs Gully, and until gold-buyers are established here, no just estimate of the, amount of gold obtained on 'his field can be arrived;at, as for several days' parcels have been offered for sale, which there was not money on the ground to purchase. \ At the Police Court yesterday, no less .than nine females were plaintiffs, defendants, and witnesses, in cases brought forward. In two of them the plaintiff did not appear, and in those investigated, abusive and filthy language were the chief sources of complaint, which called forth' the remark from the Magistrate that he was accustomed to hear abominable expressions from the lips of men, but he thoughtin Dunedin the ladies beat them in the selection of foul language. During the hearing of one of these cases his Worship had to"; exclaim to a policeman in attendance," Do keep those women quiet!" Outside the court a few days ago we heard an Irishwoman, who was a witness in one of these cases, express herself thus " The, women in this town bangs Banagher, may the dickens hoist the half of them." Ifc appears that even Tasmania has its '■" Native difficulty," aud his Excellency Colonel Browne has no less than seven aboriginal Tasmanians under his government.. We notice in the colonial journals that these seven natves cost the Government something like Ll 500 a year, or a trifle ovei L 214 per aunum each. If the same scale ol Native Government was adopted in New Zealand the expenditure would be ten millions seven hundred thousand per annum. ■ At a Committee Meeting of the Dunedin Cricket Club, on Wednesday evening, it was resolved, to postpone the opening of the season until Saturday, the 7th prox., on account of the unsettled state o' the weather, and- owing to the cross-drains, recently cut in the ground, not yet being completed. An advertisement to this effeel appears in another column. Mr Hall's resignation, as one of the joint Secretaries of the club, was, at'his express request, accepted ; Mr Thos. H. Ivey being unanimously elected in his stead. Amongst the .bye-laws passed at ,the meeting, was one enacting that the uniform of the club should consist of white flannel cap and trowsers, and sky-blue shirt. After the admission oi several candidates for membership, the meeting adjourned. The "Calcutta Englishman" of the 3rd September thus refers to the dispatch of troops from India to New Zealand :—"We believe that rhe Government is desirous of sending down the military reinforcements to New Zealand, by steam. Vessels of sufficient tonnage of that description can be collected here. The resolution is a wise and rational one, as no transport operations consequent on active hostilities being carried on in the field should now-a-days be p-rformed by sail ing vessels, It is probable that the war in New Zealand will be short and sharp, and, we hope, decisive this time; whilst the Government here seem in no great hurry to send down the troops to be supplied from India for conducting hos_ tilities against the Maories. If H.M-'s 43rd L. I. are to go to the seat of war slowly and leisurely in sailing vessels, there is at least one in the port now that could take on board the entire regiment, carry the officers and men comfortably, and land them en masse in New Zealand; but steam transports are much preferable under the circumstances." It is astonishing what absurdities are sometimes promulgated in the public journals in the shape of private letters. We notice in the Mount Alexander Mail of the 19th a copy of a letter purporting to have been written by one of the volunteers who sailed from Melbourne in the ship Star of India. The writer, says :-«We narrowly escaped being lost in the Bay of Islands, just after passing Cape North, and whilst taki Dg thebar (Manakuhu), \sic) on which the man-of-war Orpheus was wrecked." A reference to the map will show that the Bay of Islands and the Manukau harbor are on opposite coasts. The Star of India did not go near the Manukau.

The London Tivies thus comments on the war iv this colony:—" So for is the war from being over that it is dcs- ribed in our corr°spondence as only just commencing, and likely to " exceed fn extent and importance any of its predecessors." We may hope that this estimate will prove exaggerated, and that a struggle which has been opened with such unwonted success will not be of very long duration. It is clear, hewever, that between us and the Maories there is no peace, nor can we say that we are surprised at the fact When one race encounters another under such conditions war is a natural consequence The Maories are martial, intelligent, jealous and illdisposed to yield to the advances of a more civilized population. Though so acute a people can hardly be blind to our actual superiority, vet they have hitherto had no great reason to distrust their own chances in war. They have defied our arms, if not with absolute success at any rate without discredit to themselves, and with the effect of making us greatly disinclined to begin war again. So they are not likely to succumb without resistance to the fate before them. From that fate, put it how we will, they can have no escape. We may regulate the land sales, and respect tribal rights, and protect native interests to the best of our power, but we can never stop the growth of a British colony, or reconcile with that growth the claims of a barbarous population to the lordship of the land. Three years ago the colonists were as numerous as the natives" and since that time the Europeans have rapidly multiplied under the attraction of the goldflelds of Otago. Does anybody imagine that these settlers will allow small tribes of savages to forbid their natural expansion, and confine them within a territorial pale ? The New Zealander may be assimilated, or exterminated, or civilised off the land, but he will certainly never hold that laud to the prejudice of a stronger and superior race, whose title to occupy it even if based only upon conquest, would be as good as his own. However, we need not at present carry our speculations to this point. It is enough to anticipate onthis occasion, at any rate, a less costly struggle than those of former years. Gen. Cameron, wlio enjoyed the special confidence and esteem of the late Lord Clyde, appears to have divined with happy instinct the exigencies of the crisis. His tactics have been justified by an early, signal, and most opportune success. It is not, we trust, too much to hope that he may go on as he has begun, in which case we should soon see the end of one more New Zealand war. That our liabilities would not be thus terminated may be true enough, but it will be an infinite advantage to this country if we can accept and conclude these quarrels when they are forced upon us without draining our army of thousands or our Exchequer of millions." After much delay, the important matter of establishing along the coast efficient lights, is now in afair way of being carried out, and several oflicial visits have been paid to Cape Saunders, Dog Island, and other localities as. situations for the erection of lighthouses ; but, in consequence of the pressing engagements of the Provincial. Engineer, and of other causes, nothing further has been done towards the execution of the projects. The machinery connected with two lights—those1 at Cape Saunders and Tairoa Head—is understood to be on board of hulks at Port Chalmers -land part of the appliances for the light at Dog Island has also been received, but nething has been done to improve the approved sites, or to erect the'necessary buildings. Now, however, we have a Marine Engiueer, and this gentleman (Mr BalfourJ is shortly to start on a tour of inspection,. accompanied by Captain Robertson, of , the Marine Board- His first visit will probably be made to Dog Island. At any rate, the erection of a lighthouse there is the project of the greatest urgency The erection cf the subordinate light on Tairoa Head, and of channel lights up to Port Chalmers is of no small importance, more partipulaiiy as an advantage to the rapidly increasing fleet of steam, vessels now resorting to the Port and requiring to make the harbor both by night and day. As the the; leading landfall on the coast" of the Province, Capa Saunders is an equally eligible site for a light of the first magnitude. But the latter is a necessity interior to that of a light on Dog Island, and it is not alone a matter of provincial interest but would be of general value to to the Colony. It is, however, of sufficient importance to the Province of Otago to induce the provincial authorities to take a leading part in promoting its erection. The great majority of vessels resorting to Port Otago come and go by Foveaux Straits, and ifc is a piece of navigation which recent experience has shown to be fraught with delays and dangers to shipping, by its intricacies.the frequency.of boisterous'westerly winds, and the prevalence of thick All these different circumstances would be materially lessened in their effects upon the navigation of ■ the. Straits by the erection of a light on Dog 1 Island, and, though it is properly a General Government project,' the interests of this Province are sufficiently considerable to warrant steps being taking towards its execution even without the assistance of Southland, promised some time ago, but very tardily given. Mr Bnlfour's visit, it is therefore hoped, will hot be long in leading to this. So far as inspection has already gone, the island is found to contain in its limited area a most ample supply 6f building material, on the very spot supposed to be most eligible for the erection of a light house, and it has a moderately good harbor, with deep water. It only requires the completion ot the necessary appliances for the light, and these, it is understood, will be received by an early ship from Scotland, which has the credit of being the best lighted pprtion of the United Kingdom, and where Mr Balfour has had extensive experience nnder the Commissioners for Northern Liglits. At an inquest held at Port Chalmers yesterday upon-the body of Joseph Grant, which was found in.the bay on Tuesday morning, the jury returned a verdict of "Found Drowned." The evidence of Dr. O'Donoghue, after a post mortem examination, was to the effect that the man had been drowned, and that the body bore no marks of violence. The other evidence i-elated chiefiy to the finding of the body and to the few circumstances which the mate of the deceased recollected as having occurred, while they were getting on board the punt, near which he was drowned. There was no evidence as to the im mediate circumstances of ; the man's death, but the presumption ■is that it was purely accidental. At the termination of the inquest, the jury drew the attention of the Coroner to the want of a dead house, and the desire which existed for the appointment of a Coroner resident in the Port. The Coroner explained that he had on several occasions represented the want of a dead-house, and that such had been promised, though there had been considerable delay in the preparations for its erection. He advised tbe jury to represent to the General Government their desire for a resident Coroner, and expressed his willingness to further their wishes, but he doubted if the circumstances were such as to induce the Government to make the appointment.

The "Governor's Wife "was performed last ivening at tlie Princess' Theatre to a'crowded tudience. It is a pretty little comedy, and Miss Fulia Mathews as Letty Briggs, and Jlr Harry Fackson as Hickory Sliort, Were very suc:essful. It -would be as- well, however, it he action of the piece were quicker. We lave observed a tendency on the part of jne or two of the actors, in this aud other pieces, to make too much of a part, and what would otherwise have been a good scene, is in consequence rendered somewhat wearisome. The burlesque of "Fra Diavolo" appears to have lost none of its attractions, and provoked great merriment. To-night, the same programme will be repeated; and to-morrow night, what is deaominated" the great Hibernian Sensation play " af "Ireland As It Was," will be produced, Miss Xulia Mathews playing her favourite character of Judy O'Trot. We were informed yesterday of the -d?.-;.-. of a vocal and instrumental performer, whose -n;irie as Bill White of Rainer's Serenaders was .;>, liousehould word throughout Australia, when that troupe was in the height of its successful career in the colonies. Mr White was styled the original Ben Bolt, as being the person who first introduced that popular melody to audiences south of the line. He was possessed then of an excellent tenor voice, and was perhaps the most popular member ot the once celebrated band of Reiner He was a mau of good address and gentlemanly exterior in the times we speak ot, and was a welcome guest at the houses ot the wealthiest when the fame of the serenaders, as the initiators of negro minstrelsy, was in its zenith. About three or four years ago, Mr White met wifchan accident, by which his leg was broken, and therefrom it would seem, His downfall was dated The fracture was not properly set, and handsome White, like Byron, was ashamed of his leg, and wounded vanity sought consolation in the punch bowl. Step by step he descended the professional ladder, until he was glad to earn a bare subsistence and a few nobblers at the rowdiest free and easies. Many persons who read this will be carried back by old recollections, to that period when Rainer's Serenaders were all the rage, and Bil White was the Beau Brummel of the colonial stage. A correspondent 'at Oamaru furnishes us with the following interesting particulars concerning the discovery of the skeleton of a Moa in that locality:-" While some workmen were employed the other day in excavating the foundation of a building in the town, they suddenly came upon what they thought to be the skeleton of a gigantic man; but, upon closer examination, it was found to be that of a Moa,of more than ordi, narry size, in a very perfect state.. The head! which is truly wonderful in its construction, is " very perfect. The eye sockets are quite perfect and one would fancy at first sight, from the way in which the bones round where the eyes were, are formed, that the bird actually wore spectacles The skeleton throughout is very wonderful. The height, as near as I could measure is about 6 feet four or six inches, it may be seven feet when the skeleton.is standing erect. A.gentleman from Dunedin who was in this town, and saw the skeleton, remarked that it 'must be that of the flamingo.; , We know of the flamingo being found in 'Africa and South America,- but never in Oamaru. lam therefore not: mciiued'to agree 'with that gentleman.' The foregoing is perfectly correct. When the skeleton is set. together I will give you full particulars". ' ' '" F . ■= We are exceedingly glad to be able to state that in spite of the repeated. failures which:hare attended the efforts to; form a Choral Society" in Dunedin, there is reason to hope for-sucicess-at last. An Association is in course ; of formation under the auspices of several influential persons, and from the amount of support- already accorded,' and the assistance, promised,, this last attempt to form a Musical Society is likely to be very successful. We may state that the society is to be nnder thecoaductorship of Mr. W, Hudyn. Flood, a musician of considerable r•- in merits, who has recently arrived in DunerJir. ,md that the aid ot several accomplished'ama^s has been enlisted in the cause. We ' sincere iy trust that Dunedin will not long be without its musical society, and that the Association now beino-lor-ganised'will achieve a success equal to .that of similar societies in other parts of the colony. At. a meeting of the Loyal Dunedin Lodge of Odd Fellows,- held last evening at Host Tower!s the .Royal George Hotel, Georg*e,- street, the officers and brethren presented a very handsomely executed testimonial iti an elegant .giltfranie to Brother P, G. Grey, as a. mark of respect; in consideration of his having passed through'the various elective offices of the Lodge, and to express their sense of his uniform desire and effort to promote the welfare of the Order as-well as for his satisfactory conduct as Secretary to the Widow and Orphans' Institution. In consequence; of the state of the weather-hav-ing interfered with the operations, the opening 'of the Wesk-yau Church at Waikouaiti is.postpoued for about three weeks. The determination of the Government to erect toll gates on the main lines of road appears to have already created a feeling of opposition. The inhabitants of Caversham intend holding a meeting, on Monday evening next, to take into consideration the proposed construction of a toll gate near Cargill's Hill. A general meeting of the Dunedin Scottish Volunteers was hejd at McCubbin's Hotel- last evening, the business, by announcement, 1 being the election of officers for the corps.,; About thirty members were present, most of whom were proposed in rotation as. subalterns, but declined die honor before a secondar to each of these motions could be heard. Mr. John Cargill was elected by acclamation to the post of Captain, Mr Alexander Cumming and John Fargie to those of Lieutenant and Ensign respectively. The modesty of the corps was made apparent by the expressed disinclination of its privates to be promoted at present/and no spark of jealousy was touched in the' breasts of those present' who seemed to be .perfectly satisfied with the The appointment of non-commissioned officers was by general desire psstponed to a future day >